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Johnny Mann Dies

GRAMMY-winning conductor/arranger Johnny Mann died June 18 at his home in Anderson, S.C. A specific cause of death was not given, but Mann had been treated for heart problems in recent years. Through recordings and television appearances, Mann was among a small group of conductors and arrangers, such as Mitch Miller and Ray Conniff, who became household names in the '50s and '60s. After serving in the U.S. Army, Mann moved to Los Angeles in 1953 to pursue a career in music. His breakthrough came on the 1956 TV variety show, "The NBC Comedy Hour." Though the show aired for only five months, he formed the Johnny Mann Singers from the show's group of vocalists. The group went on to record approximately 40 albums. Mann's own TV series, "Stand Up And Cheer," ran from 1971–1974. The Johnny Mann Singers won Best Performance By A Chorus GRAMMYs in 1961 for the album Great Band With Great Voices (with the Si Zentner Orchestra), and in 1967 for a cover of 5th Dimension's "Up, Up And Away."

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